Semiconductor constructions, semiconductor processing methods, methods of forming contact pads, and methods of forming electrical connections between metal-containing layers

ABSTRACT

Some embodiments include semiconductor processing methods in which a copper barrier is formed to be laterally offset from a copper component, and in which nickel is formed to extend across both the barrier and the component. The barrier may extend around an entire lateral periphery of the component, and may be spaced from the component by an intervening ring of electrically insulative material. The copper component may be a bond pad or an interconnect between two levels of metal layers. Some embodiments include semiconductor constructions in which nickel extends across a copper component, a copper barrier is laterally offset from the copper component, and an insulative material is between the copper barrier and the copper component.

RELATED PATENT DATA

This patent resulted from a divisional of U.S. Patent Application Ser.No. 13/615,170, which was filed Sep. 13, 2012, and which is herebyincorporated herein by reference; which resulted from a divisional ofU.S. Patent Application Ser. No. 12/785,263, which was filed May 21,2010, which is now U.S. Pat. No. 8,288,867, and which is herebyincorporated herein by reference; which resulted from a divisional ofU.S. Patent Application Ser. No. 11/639,771, which was filed Dec. 15,2006, which issued as U.S. Pat. No. 7,749,885, and which is herebyincorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Semiconductor constructions, semiconductor processing methods, methodsof forming contact pads, and methods of forming electrical connectionsbetween metal-containing layers.

BACKGROUND

Copper is commonly utilized in structures of integrated circuit (IC)chips. For instance, copper lines may be utilized for wiring; and copperpads may be utilized as bond pad regions associated with an IC chip forconnection to circuitry external of the chip.

Copper is readily oxidized upon exposure to air. Accordingly, protectivematerials are frequently provided over the copper utilized in IC chips.Such protective materials may be a combination of nickel and gold, or acombination of nickel and palladium. Specifically, nickel may beelectroless plated directly on the copper, and subsequently gold orpalladium may be formed directly over the nickel.

The copper and protective materials thereover will frequently besurrounded by insulative material (such as silicon dioxide). A problemmay occur with the insulative material poorly adhering to the protectivematerials so that cracks develop between the protective materials andthe insulative material. Such cracks may permit oxidants (such as O₂ orwater vapor) to reach the copper. The oxidants may then oxidize thecopper and create defects which propagate through the copper and impairperformance of an IC chip.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1 and 2 are a diagrammatic cross-sectional view and diagrammatictop view, respectively, of a semiconductor wafer fragment at apreliminary processing stage of an embodiment of the invention. Thecross-section of FIG. 1 is along the line 1-1 of FIG. 2.

FIGS. 3 and 4 are a cross-sectional view and a top view, respectively,of the fragment of FIGS. 1 and 2 shown at a processing stage subsequentto that of FIGS. 1 and 2. The cross-section of FIG. 3 is along line 3-3of FIG. 4.

FIG. 5 is a view of the fragment of FIG. 1 shown at a processing stagesubsequent to that of FIGS. 3 and 4.

FIGS. 6 and 7 are a cross-sectional view and a top view, respectively,of the fragment of FIGS. 1 and 2 shown at a processing stage subsequentto that of FIG. 5. The cross-section of FIG. 6 is along line 6-6 of FIG.7.

FIGS. 8 and 9 are a cross-sectional view and a top view, respectively,of the fragment of FIGS. 1 and 2 shown at a processing stage subsequentto that of FIGS. 6 and 7. The cross-section of FIG. 8 is along line 8-8of FIG. 9.

FIGS. 10 and 11 are a cross-sectional view and a top view, respectively,of the fragment of FIGS. 1 and 2 shown at a processing stage subsequentto that of FIGS. 8 and 9. The cross-section of FIG. 10 is along line10-10 of FIG. 11.

FIG. 12 is a view of the fragment of FIG. 1 shown at a processing stagesubsequent to that of FIGS. 1 and 2 in accordance with anotherembodiment of the invention.

FIGS. 13 and 14 are a diagrammatic cross-sectional view and diagrammatictop view, respectively, of a semiconductor wafer fragment at apreliminary processing stage of another embodiment of the invention. Thecross-section of FIG. 13 is along the line 13-13 of FIG. 14.

FIGS. 15 and 16 are a cross-sectional view and a top view, respectively,of the fragment of FIGS. 13 and 14 shown at a processing stagesubsequent to that of FIGS. 13 and 14. The cross-section of FIG. 15 isalong line 15-15 of FIG. 16.

FIG. 17 is a view of the fragment of FIG. 13 shown at a processing stagesubsequent to that of FIGS. 15 and 16.

FIGS. 18 and 19 are a cross-sectional view and a top view, respectively,of the fragment of FIGS. 13 and 14 shown at a processing stagesubsequent to that of FIG. 17. The cross-section of FIG. 18 is alongline 18-18 of FIG. 19.

FIGS. 20 and 21 are a cross-sectional view and a top view, respectively,of the fragment of FIGS. 13 and 14 shown at a processing stagesubsequent to that of FIGS. 18 and 19. The cross-section of FIG. 20 isalong line 20-20 of FIG. 21.

FIGS. 22 and 23 are a diagrammatic cross-sectional view and diagrammatictop view, respectively, of a semiconductor wafer fragment at apreliminary processing stage of another embodiment of the invention. Thecross-section of FIG. 22 is along the line 22-22 of FIG. 23.

FIGS. 24 and 25 are a cross-sectional view and a top view, respectively,of the fragment of FIGS. 22 and 23 shown at a processing stagesubsequent to that of FIGS. 22 and 23. The cross-section of FIG. 24 isalong line 24-24 of FIG. 25.

FIGS. 26 and 27 are a cross-sectional view and a top view, respectively,of the fragment of FIGS. 22 and 23 shown at a processing stagesubsequent to that of FIGS. 24 and 25. The cross-section of FIG. 26 isalong line 26-26 of FIG. 27.

FIG. 28 is a view of the fragment of FIG. 22 shown at a processing stagesubsequent to that of FIGS. 26 and 27.

FIGS. 29 and 30 are a cross-sectional view and a top view, respectively,of the fragment of FIGS. 22 and 23 shown at a processing stagesubsequent to that of FIG. 28. The cross-section of FIG. 29 is alongline 29-29 of FIG. 30.

FIG. 31 is a view of the fragment of FIG. 22 shown at a processing stagesubsequent to that of FIGS. 29 and 30.

FIGS. 32 and 33 are a cross-sectional view and a top view, respectively,of the fragment of FIGS. 22 and 23 shown at a processing stagesubsequent to that of FIG. 31. The cross-section of FIG. 32 is alongline 32-32 of FIG. 33.

FIG. 34 is a view of the fragment of FIG. 22 shown at a processing stagesubsequent to that of FIGS. 29 and 30 in accordance with anotherembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 35 is a view of the fragment of FIG. 22 shown at a processing stagesubsequent to that of FIG. 34.

FIG. 36 is a view of the fragment of FIG. 22 shown at a processing stagesubsequent to that of FIG. 35.

FIG. 37 is a cross-sectional view of the fragment of FIG. 36 shown alongthe line 37-37 of FIG. 36. The cross-section of FIG. 36 is along theline 36-36 of FIG. 37.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Some embodiments include provision of a barrier (or guard) copperstructure laterally offset from a copper-containing IC component. Thebarrier blocks moisture and/or oxygen from reaching copper of the ICcomponent. The IC component may be, for example, a bond pad region or aninterconnect between two levels of metal.

One embodiment of the invention is described with reference to FIGS.1-11.

FIGS. 1 and 2 show a fragment of a semiconductor construction 10 at apreliminary processing stage. The construction comprises a semiconductorbase 12, electrically insulative material 14 over the base, andelectrically conductive material 16 also over the base.

Base 12 may comprise semiconductor material having various IC components(not shown) therein and supported thereby. For instance, base 12 maycomprise a portion of a monocrystalline silicon wafer, and may havenumerous circuit components (such as memory and/or logic circuitry)fabricated to be incorporated into an IC chip comprising base 12. To aidin interpretation of the claims that follow, the terms “semiconductivesubstrate,” “semiconductor construction” and “semiconductor substrate”are defined to mean any construction comprising semiconductive material,including, but not limited to, bulk semiconductive materials such as asemiconductive wafer (either alone or in assemblies comprising othermaterials thereon), and semiconductive material layers (either alone orin assemblies comprising other materials). The term “substrate” refersto any supporting structure, including, but not limited to, thesemiconductive substrates described above. Base 12, insulative material14, and conductive material 16 may thus be together referred to as asemiconductor substrate 17.

Although base 12 is shown having a planar upper topography, variouscircuit components may be formed over base 12 and/or extending into base12 to create a more complex topography than that shown.

Insulative material 14 may comprise any suitable composition orcombination of compositions. For instance, material 14 may comprise oneor more of silicon dioxide, silicon nitride and parylene. Althoughinsulative material 14 is shown to be homogeneous, the material maycomprise numerous discrete layers and structures. Further, variouselectrically conductive structures (not shown) may extend withinmaterial 14 in addition to the electrically conductive material 16.

Electrically conductive material 16 may comprise any suitablecomposition or combination of compositions, including, for example, oneor more of various metals (for instance, copper, tungsten, titanium andaluminum), metal compositions (for instance, metal nitrides and metalsilicides) and conductively-doped semiconductor materials (for instance,conductively-doped silicon).

Conductive material 16 is shown patterned as a line. The line has aregion 18 encapsulated by insulative material 14, and has another region20 with an exposed upper surface. The region 20 may correspond to a bondpad (or contact pad) region. Specifically, region 20 may be configuredfor having a bond pad formed thereon. Such bond pad may ultimately beutilized for connecting circuitry (not shown) external of construction10 to conductive material 16. Conductive material 16 may then functionas an interconnect line between the circuitry external of construction10 and integrated circuitry comprised by construction 10. In someembodiments, conductive material 16 may be considered to comprise anelectrically conductive lead 18, and a bond pad region 20 joined to suchlead. Electrically insulative material 14 may be considered to be oversuch lead and laterally surrounding the bond pad region. The bond padregion 20 may alternatively be referred to as a bond pad location, sinceit may be considered to define a location where a bond pad willultimately be formed.

Bond pad region 20 is an example of an electrically conductive componentregion that may be exposed on a surface of a semiconductor construction.Other component regions may include, for example, interconnect regions,as described below with reference to FIGS. 13-37.

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, patterned electrically insulative material22 is formed over semiconductor substrate 17. Patterned material 22 hasa first opening 24 extending therethrough to expose at least a portionof contact pad region 20 (and is shown exposing an entirety of contactpad region 20), and has a second opening 26 extending therethrough toexpose insulative material 14 proximate the contact pad region 20.

Electrically insulative material 22 may be patterned with any suitableprocessing. For instance, a layer of material 22 may be formed acrosssubstrate 17, a patterned photoresist mask may be formed over the layerutilizing photolithographic processing, an etch may be utilized totransfer a pattern from the mask to layer 22, and subsequently the maskmay be removed to leave the patterned layer 22 of FIGS. 3 and 4.

Contact pad region 20 comprises a lateral periphery 21 corresponding toa perimeter of the contact pad region. First opening 24 is shown to havea lateral periphery corresponding to the lateral periphery 21 of thecontact pad region. Second opening 26 is shown to surround the lateralperipheries of the first opening and the contact pad region.

First opening 24 may be referred to as a component pattern, in that thefirst opening ultimately defines a location for a conductive componentformed over bond pad region 20. Second opening 26 may be referred to asan annulus pattern surrounding a lateral periphery of the componentpattern. Second opening 26 may alternatively be referred to as a barrierpattern, in that the second opening ultimately defines a location for abarrier.

Second opening 26 is spaced from first opening 24 by a ring (or segment)28 of insulative material 22. Thus, second opening 26 is laterallyoffset from first opening 24. Although the second opening is shown tosurround the lateral periphery of the first opening, in otherembodiments the second opening may extend along only a portion of thelateral periphery of the first opening.

Insulative material 22 may comprise any suitable composition orcombination of compositions, and may, for example, comprise, consistessentially of or consist of silicon dioxide.

Referring to FIG. 5, electrically conductive material 30 is formedacross patterned electrically insulative material 22, and within thefirst and second openings 24 and 26. Electrically conductive material 30may comprise any suitable composition or combination of compositions,and may, for example, comprise, consist essentially of, or consist ofcopper.

Referring to FIGS. 6 and 7, conductive material 30 is removed from overinsulative material 22, while leaving the conductive material withinopenings 24 and 26. Accordingly, the conductive material 30 withinopening 26 becomes electrically isolated from that within opening 24.The conductive material 30 remaining within opening 24 may be referredto as a component 32, and the conductive material 30 remaining withinopening 26 may be referred to as a barrier (or guard) 34. The shownbarrier 34 corresponds to an annulus surrounding component 32. Component32 and barrier 34 may be considered to have a first electricallyconductive upper surface 33 and a second electrically conductive surface35, respectively.

Barrier 34 has an outer lateral periphery 37 along a sidewall of opening26.

Conductive material 30 may be removed from over insulative material 22utilizing any suitable method or combination methods, such as, forexample, planarization through chemical-mechanical polishing (CMP). Thestructure of FIG. 6 comprises material 30 within openings 24 and 26, butnot over the ring 28 of insulative material 22. The structure of FIG. 6may be formed by processing other than that of FIGS. 1-5, including, forexample, forming conductive material 30 only in openings 24 and 26;rather than forming the material over an entirety of substrate 17 andthen planarizing the material to leave it only in openings 24 and 26.

The barrier 34 may comprise any suitable dimension and may be laterallyoffset from component 32 by any suitable distance. Component 32 maycomprise a width of about 100 microns in the cross-sectional view ofFIG. 6. Barrier 34 may comprise a width of from about 1000 angstroms toabout 5000 angstroms, and may be laterally offset from component 32 by adistance of from about 1000 angstroms to about 2000 angstroms.

Referring to FIGS. 8 and 9, a patterned electrically insulative material40 is formed over insulative material 22. Insulative materials 22 and 40may be referred to as first and second electrically insulativematerials, respectively. Insulative material 40 may comprise anysuitable composition or combination of compositions. In someembodiments, material 40 may be the same composition as material 22. Forinstance, materials 22 and 40 may both comprise, consist essentially of,or consist of silicon oxide. Material 40 may be patterned utilizingprocessing similar to that discussed above for the patterning ofmaterial 22 of FIGS. 3 and 4.

Patterned material 40 has an opening 42 extending therethrough. Suchopening may be referred to as a third opening to distinguish it from thefirst and second openings 24 and 26.

The upper surface 33 of component 32 is exposed along a bottom peripheryof opening 42, and at least a portion of upper surface 35 of barrier 34is also exposed along the bottom periphery of opening 42. In the shownembodiment, an entirety of upper surface 35 is exposed. In otherembodiments, only a portion of upper surface 35 may be exposed.

An upper surface of ring 28 of insulative material 22 is also exposedalong a bottom periphery of opening 42.

Referring to FIGS. 10 and 11, conductive material 44 is formed acrossthe bottom periphery of opening 42. In the shown embodiment, conductivematerial 44 only partially fills opening 42, and another conductivematerial 46 is formed over material 44 to fill a remaining portion ofopening 42.

Conductive material 44 may comprise any suitable composition orcombination of compositions, and may, for example, comprise, consistessentially of, or consist of nickel. Conductive material 44 may bedirectly against component 32, barrier 34 and ring 28, as shown.

Conductive material 44 may be formed by electroless plating nickel overcopper-containing material 30 of component 32 and barrier 34. Theelectroless-plated nickel may form on component 32 and barrier 34, andthen merge to bridge across ring 28 of insulative material 22.

Conductive material 46 may comprise any suitable composition orcombination of compositions, and may, for example, comprise, consistessentially of, or consist of one or both of gold and palladium.Conductive material 44 may be considered to form a first structurewithin opening 42, and conductive material 46 may be considered to forma second structure within the opening and over the first structure.

The component 32 of FIGS. 10 and 11 may be considered to be a bond padwhich is over and in direct contact with conductive material 16 of thebond pad region 20 (with the term “direct contact” meaning that thereare no intervening materials between component 32 and material 16). Thebond pad has a lateral periphery which is entirely surrounded by theelectrically conductive annulus corresponding to barrier 34. The ring 28of insulative material 22 separates such annulus from the bond pad.Conductive material 44 may be considered a segment of conductivematerial which is over and in direct contact with the bond pad, theannulus, and the ring of insulative material between such bond pad andannulus.

Conductive materials 44 and 46 have a lateral periphery 43 along asidewall of opening 42. Lateral periphery 43 of materials 44 and 46,together with a lateral periphery 37 of barrier 34, forms an outerconductive wall. Insulative materials 22 and 40 are along such outerconductive wall. In some embodiments, insulative materials 22 and 40 mayboth comprise silicon dioxide so that the outer conductive wall is alongan interface with silicon dioxide. As discussed in the “background”section of this disclosure, a problem which may occur is that a crackmay form between silicon dioxide and materials comprising nickel, goldor palladium. Thus, a crack may occur between lateral periphery 43 andinsulative material 40. Such crack may expose barrier 34 to oxidativeconditions. Barrier 34 may oxidize if such crack occurs, but theoxidation will be precluded from propagating to component 32 by theintervening insulative material 22 of ring 28. Thus, the prior artproblem of oxidation of copper-containing components may be avoided.

A method of ascertaining robustness of a particular constructionrelative to oxidation is a highly-accelerated temperature and humiditystress test (HAST). The HAST may employ a temperature of about 130° C.,a relative humidity of about 85 percent, a pressure of about 230kilopascals, and an exposure time of about 96 hours. Constructions ofthe type shown in FIGS. 10 and 11 are found to survive such HAST with nodamage to component 32, whereas prior art structures may suffersignificant damage to a bond pad under such HAST.

The embodiment of FIGS. 10 and 11 has barrier 34 formed of the samecomposition as component 32, and formed to the same height as component32. In other embodiments, barrier 34 may be formed of a differentcomposition than component 32, and/or may be formed to a differentheight than component 32. In such other embodiments, the processing ofFIGS. 5-7 may be replaced with multiple maskings and depositions so thatbarrier 34 is formed sequentially relative to component 32; and thusbarrier 34 may be formed to a different height and/or of a differentcomposition than component 32. FIG. 12 shows an embodiment ofconstruction 10 in which barrier 34 is formed to a different height thancomponent 32. In such embodiment, component 32 and barrier 34 maycomprise different compositions relative to one another. For instance,component 32 may comprise, consist essentially of or consist of copper;and barrier 34 may comprise, consist essentially of, or consist ofaluminum. The embodiment of FIG. 12 also differs from that of FIGS. 9and 10 in that insulative material 22 is not along the outer peripheraledges 37 of component 34, but rather insulative material 40 is alongsuch outer edges.

Another embodiment of the invention is described with reference to FIGS.13-21.

Referring to FIGS. 13 and 14, a semiconductor construction 50 isillustrated at a preliminary processing stage. Construction 50 comprisesa semiconductor base 52, and electrically insulative material 54 oversuch base.

Base 52 may be identical to the base 12 discussed above with referenceto FIGS. 1 and 2, and accordingly may comprise a semiconductor waferhaving integrated circuitry associated therewith.

Insulative material 54 may comprise any suitable composition orcombination of compositions, and may, for example, comprise, consistessentially of or consist of one or more of silicon nitride, silicondioxide, and various doped silicon oxides (for instance,borophosphosilicate glass, BPSG; phosphosilicate glass, PSG; andfluorosilicate glass, FSG).

A first metal-containing layer 56 is within the insulative material 54,and a second metal-containing layer 58 is over insulative material 54.Metal-containing layer 56 may be part of a first metal level (forinstance, so-called metal I), and metal-containing layer 58 may be partof a second metal level (for instance, so-called metal II).

An electrically conductive interconnect 60 extends from a surface ofinsulative material 54 to metal-containing layer 56. Interconnect 60 hasan upper surface 61 proximate metal-containing layer 58. Ultimately,metal-containing layer 58 is to be electrically coupled to interconnect60, and thereby electrically coupled to metal-containing layer 56.

Metal-containing layers 56 and 58 may comprise any suitable compositionsor combinations of compositions, and may, for example, comprise, consistessentially of, or consist of one or more of various metals (such ascopper, aluminum, titanium and tungsten) and metal-containingcompositions (such as metal silicides and metal nitrides). Interconnect60 may comprise any suitable composition or combination of compositions,including any of various metals, metal compositions, and/orconductively-doped semiconductor materials.

Base 52, insulative material 54, metal-containing layers 56 and 58, andinterconnect 60 may be together referred to as a semiconductorsubstrate.

Referring to FIGS. 15 and 16, patterned electrically insulative material64 is formed over insulative material 54. Material 64 may be referred toas a second electrically insulative material to distinguish it from thefirst electrically insulative material 54. Patterned material 64 has afirst opening 66 extending therethrough to expose metal-containing layer58 and upper surface 61 of interconnect 60, and has a second opening 68extending therethrough to expose insulative material 54 proximateinterconnect 60. Second opening 68 is laterally offset from firstopening 66 by a segment 70 of insulative material 64. Opening 68 definesan annular ring extending around metal-containing material 58 and theupper surface of interconnect 60.

Material 64 may be patterned utilizing processing similar to thatdiscussed above with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4 for patterning material22. Material 64 may, for example, comprise, consist essentially of orconsist of silicon dioxide.

Referring to FIG. 17, an electrically conductive material 72 is formedover metal-containing layer 58, and insulative material 64; and isformed within first and second openings 66 and 68. Material 72 maycomprise, consist essentially of, or consist of copper; and may bereferred to as a copper-containing material in some embodiments.

Referring to FIGS. 18 and 19, material 72 is removed from overinsulative material 64 and metal-containing material 58, while leavingthe material 72 within openings 66 and 68. Accordingly, the structure ofFIGS. 18 and 19 has the electrically conductive material 72 formed to bewithin first and second openings 66 and 68, but not over segment 70 ofinsulative material 64.

Material 72 may be removed from over insulative material 64 andmetal-containing material 58 by planarization, such as, for example,CMP.

The material 72 within opening 66 may be considered to be a firstconductive structure 76 having a first upper surface 67; and thematerial 72 within opening 68 may be considered to be a secondconductive structure 78 having a second upper surface 69. Firstconductive structure 76 is directly over upper surface 61 ofinterconnect 60. The first conductive structure 76 may be considered toelectrically couple interconnect 60 with second metal-containing layer58. A location of interconnect 60 is shown in dashed-line view in thetop view of FIG. 19 to assist the reader in understanding the relativelocation of the interconnect to other structures shown in FIG. 19.

Second conductive structure 78 is laterally offset from first conductivestructure 76, and is directly over and against insulative material 54.

Referring to FIGS. 20 and 21, patterned electrically insulative material80 is formed over insulative material 64. Patterned material 80 may bereferred to as a third insulative material to distinguish it from thefirst insulative material 54 and the second insulative material 64.Material 80 may be patterned utilizing processing similar to thatdiscussed above for the patterning of material 22 of FIGS. 3 and 4.Insulative material 80 may, for example, comprise, consist essentiallyof, or consist of silicon dioxide.

Patterned material 80 has an opening 82 extending therethrough. Opening82 may be referred to as a third opening to distinguish it from thefirst and second openings 66 and 68 of FIGS. 15 and 16. The thirdopening has a bottom periphery comprising upper surface 67 of the firstconductive structure 76, and comprising upper surface 69 of the secondconductive structure 78. The bottom periphery of opening 82 alsocomprises an upper surface of metal layer 58, and an upper surface ofthe segment 70 of insulative material 64.

The bottom periphery of opening 82 is shown to comprise an entirety ofupper surface 69 of structure 78. However, structure 78 is a barrierstructure similar to the structure 34 of FIGS. 10 and 11, andaccordingly the bottom periphery of opening 82 may expose only a portionof upper surface 69 in some embodiments.

A nickel-containing material 84 is formed within opening 82. Material 84is shown formed directly against upper surfaces of metal-containinglayer 58, structures 76 and 78, and insulative material 64. Thenickel-containing material may be formed by electroless plating onsurfaces of metal-containing layer 58 and structures 76 and 78. Theplating may then extend laterally to cover exposed insulative surfaceswithin opening 82. Nickel-containing material 84 may comprise, consistessentially of, or consist of nickel.

The nickel-containing material only partially fills opening 82, and aremainder of the opening is filled with electrically conductive material86. Material 86 may, for example, comprise, consist essentially of, orconsist of one or both of gold and palladium.

Structures 76 and 78 are similar to the bond pad 32 and barrier 34,respectively, described above with reference to FIGS. 10 and 11.Accordingly, structures 76 and 78 may comprise the same composition asone another and the same height as one another (as shown) or maycomprise different compositions and/or heights relative to one anotherutilizing processing similar to that discussed above with reference toFIG. 12. Structures 76 and 78 may be referred to as comprising first andsecond electrically conductive materials, respectively, to indicate thatthe structures may or may not comprise the same electrically conductivematerial as one another.

Structure 78 comprises a lateral outer periphery 79, material 84comprises a lateral outer periphery 85, and material 86 comprises alateral outer periphery 87. The outer peripheries 85, 87 and 79 togetherform an outer conductive wall. Insulative materials 64 and 80 maycomprise silicon dioxide along at least a portion of said wall. To theextent that the silicon dioxide separates from the outer conductive wallto form a crack extending to component 78, component 78 will be exposedto oxidation conditions. However, oxidation of component 78 will beprecluded from propagating to component 76 by the intervening insulativestructure 70.

Locations of electrically conductive structures 76 and 78, electricallyinsulative structure 70, metal-containing layer 58 and interconnect 60are shown in dashed-line view in the top view of FIG. 21. Thedashed-line view is used to indicate that such structures are undermaterials 84 and 86.

FIG. 21 shows that structure 76 comprises a lateral periphery 77. FIG.21 also shows that second structure 78 laterally surrounds the lateralperiphery 77.

Another embodiment of the invention is described with reference to FIGS.22-33. Similar number will be used in describing the embodiment of FIGS.22-33 as was used in describing the embodiment of FIGS. 13-21, whereappropriate.

Referring to FIGS. 22 and 23, a semiconductor construction 100 isillustrated at a preliminary processing stage. Construction 100comprises the semiconductor base 52, electrically insulative material54, and metal-containing layer 56 discussed above. Although layer 56 isreferred to as a metal-containing layer in the described embodiment, inother embodiments the layer 56 may be an electrically conductivematerial that does not contain metal, such as conductively-dopedsilicon.

Referring to FIGS. 24 and 25, an opening 102 is extended throughmaterial 54 to an upper surface of electrically conductive layer 56. Theopening can be formed by, for example, forming photolithographicallypatterned photoresist over material 54, extending a pattern defined bythe photoresist through material 54 with one or more etches, and thenremoving the photoresist to leave the shown construction.

Referring to FIGS. 26 and 27, an upper portion of material 54 ispatterned to form openings 104 and 106 extending into the material, andto leave a segment 108 of material 54 between openings 104 and 106. Theopening 104 joins with opening 102, and may be considered to correspondto a widened upper portion of opening 102. Openings 102 and 104 may beconsidered to together form a first opening, and opening 106 may beconsidered to be a second opening laterally offset from the firstopening. The segment 108 is an annular ring, as shown in the top view ofFIG. 27.

The openings 104 and 106 can be formed by, for example, formingphotolithographically patterned photoresist over material 54, extendinga pattern defined by the photoresist into material 54 with one or moreetches, and then removing the photoresist to leave the shownconstruction.

Referring to FIG. 28, an electrically conductive material 110 is formedwithin openings 102, 104 and 106. Material 110 may comprise, consistessentially of, or consist of copper.

Referring to FIGS. 29 and 30, material 110 is removed from overinsulative material 54, while leaving the material 110 within openings102, 104 and 106. Accordingly, the structure of FIGS. 29 and 30 has theelectrically conductive material 110 formed to be within openings 102,104 and 106, but not over segment 108 of insulative material 54.

Material 110 may be removed from over insulative material 54 byplanarization, such as, for example, CMP.

The material 110 within openings 102 and 104 may be considered to be afirst conductive structure 112; and the material 110 within opening 106may be considered to be a second conductive structure 114. The secondconductive structure is spaced from the first conductive structure bythe intervening segment 108 of insulative material 54.

Referring to FIG. 31, patterned electrically insulative material 80 isformed over insulative material 54. Patterned material 80 has an opening116 extending therethrough to expose upper surfaces of conductivestructures 112 and 114, and to expose an upper surface of the insulativesegment 108. Material 80 may be patterned utilizing processing similarto that discussed above for the patterning of material 22 of FIGS. 3 and4. Insulative material 80 may, for example, comprise, consistessentially of, or consist of one or both of silicon dioxide and siliconnitride, and may correspond to passivation material.

Referring to FIGS. 32 and 33, conductive materials 84 and 86 are formedwithin opening 116. Material 84 may comprise nickel, and material 86 maycomprise one or both of gold and palladium, as discussed previously.Conductive structure 112 may be connected to a metal-containing layer ata level above metal-containing layer 56. For instance, layer 56 may be ametal I layer, and the conductive structure 112 may be electricallyconnected to a metal II layer.

Locations of electrically conductive structures 112 and 114, andelectrically insulative structure 108, are shown in dashed-line view inthe top view of FIG. 33. The dashed-line view is used to indicate thatsuch structures are under material 86.

Another embodiment of the invention is described with reference to FIGS.34-36. Similar number will be used in describing the embodiment of FIGS.34-36 as was used in describing the embodiment of FIGS. 22-33, whereappropriate.

Referring to FIG. 34, construction 100 is shown at a processing stagesubsequent to that of FIG. 29. Insulative material 80 is formed overinsulative material 54.

Referring to FIG. 35, material 80 is patterned to faun an opening 120extending therethrough, and such opening also penetrates into material54 to remove segment 108 (FIG. 34) of material 54. Opening 120 may beformed by, for example, forming photolithographically patternedphotoresist over material 80, extending a pattern defined by thephotoresist into materials 54 and 80 with one or more etches, and thenremoving the photoresist to leave the shown construction.

Referring to FIGS. 36 and 37, conductive materials 84 and 86 are formedwithin opening 120. Material 84 may comprise nickel, and material 86 maycomprise one or both of gold and palladium, as discussed previously. Thematerial 84 replaces segment 108 (FIG. 34) to create a spacer 122between conductive components 112 and 114. Spacer 122 forms an annularring around component 110, as shown in the cross-section of FIG. 37.

In compliance with the statute, the subject matter disclosed herein hasbeen described in language more or less specific as to structural andmethodical features. It is to be understood, however, that the claimsare not limited to the specific features shown and described, since themeans herein disclosed comprise example embodiments. The claims are thusto be afforded full scope as literally worded, and to be appropriatelyinterpreted in accordance with the doctrine of equivalents.

We claim:
 1. A semiconductor construction, comprising: a firstelectrically conductive structure over a semiconductor substrate, thefirst electrically conductive structure having a lateral periphery; asecond electrically conductive structure over the semiconductorsubstrate and surrounding an entirety of the lateral periphery of thefirst electrically conductive structure; and a nickel-containingstructure over and in direct contact with the first and secondelectrically conductive structures, the nickel-containing structureincluding a segment projecting between the first and second electricallyconductive structures, the segment being an annulus surrounding thefirst electrically conductive structure.
 2. The construction of claim 1wherein the first and second electrically conductive structures bothcomprise copper.
 3. The construction of claim 1 wherein the secondelectrically conductive structure has a first outer lateral periphery,wherein the nickel-containing structure has a second outer lateralperiphery, and wherein the first and second outer lateral peripheriesare coextensive with one another and together form a substantiallyvertical sidewall.
 4. The construction of claim 3 wherein thesubstantially vertical sidewall is directly against an insulativematerial comprising silicon dioxide.
 5. The construction of claim 1wherein the first electrically conductive structure is substantiallysquare-shaped when viewed from above.
 6. The construction of claim 1wherein the segment of the nickel-containing structure is wider than thesecond electrically conductive structure along a cross-section extendingthrough the segment and the second electrically conductive structure. 7.A semiconductor construction, comprising: a first electricallyconductive structure over a semiconductor substrate, the firstelectrically conductive structure having a lateral periphery; a secondelectrically conductive structure over the semiconductor substrate andsurrounding an entirety of the lateral periphery of the firstelectrically conductive structure; the second electrically conductivestructure having a first outer lateral periphery; a nickel-containingstructure over the first and second electrically conductive structuresand which extends across the first and second electrically conductivestructures, the nickel-containing structure including a segmentprojecting between the first and second electrically conductivestructures and directly contacting the first and second electricallyconductive structures, the segment being an polygonal ring surroundingthe first electrically conductive structure; the nickel-containingstructure having a second outer periphery; and the first and secondouter lateral peripheries together forming a substantially verticalsidewall which is entirely directly against an electrically insulativematerial.